


The Difference a Smile Makes

by FelicisMagic18873



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Abduction, Action/Adventure, BAMF Peggy Carter, BAMF Tony Stark, Brainwashing, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Harry Potter Has a Saving People Thing, Human Experimentation, Hurt/Comfort, Hydra (Marvel), Implied/Referenced Torture, Infinity Gems, Order of Phoenix AU, Peggy Carter Lives, Survival, Though he should plan it better, recovering, so does Harry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2019-07-15 15:38:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16066166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FelicisMagic18873/pseuds/FelicisMagic18873
Summary: Every action has its consequence. For Harry, the action was a memorable meeting with a certain red-haired woman and the consequences are far-reaching. Voldemort was back, Harry was being kept out of the loop. The last thing he needed was to be kidnapped by Hydra but that is exactly what happened.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel or Harry Potter (even though I wish I really did).

As he grew up, Harry became extremely familiar with the people living on Privet drive. Even if _they_ didn't know that. He knew their routines like the back of his hand just like anyone would if they had to spend most of their time outside the house. But it was either the streets or the cupboard. And Harry definitely preferred the former even if it got boring after a while. 

 

It was the same 9 to 5 routine for all of the residents, the same old gossip and the same old petty issues. Well for almost all of them. There was a house at the end of the street that was different. Its structure was the same as all the others but it was _different_. The lawn wasn't as well kept, the door knobs not as shiny, the paint not as fresh. Harry had only seen it occupied once, a long time ago. 

 

When he was six and a half to be exact.

 

It was about the time Aunt Petunia started taking the _'Positive Parenting'_ class.  The effect of the classes wasn't seen on Aunt Petunia or Dudley for that matter, rather it was apparent by the massive collection of stickers, given out in the class, on the fridge.

 

'Rules for life' Aunt Petunia called them, 'New-age bullshit' Uncle Vernon declared it to be. 

 

Dudley didn't care either way. He couldn't read and didn't care what was on the fridge, only what was in it. As for Harry, well he was just confused. Mostly because he wasn't sure whether or not the rules applied to him as well.

 

There were some rules that were Dudley specific. As in, only Dudley was expected to follow them because Harry had no need for them. An example of such a rule would be the _'No running with knives'_ rule, Harry learned to chop vegetables for his Aunt when he was 5 years old, he still had the scars to show for it or _'Make sure no one steals your toys'_ , Harry had no toys for anyone to steal, though he was falsely accused of stealing Dudley's toys many times.

 

So it was quite a chore to figure out if they were his rules as well. In the end, Harry reached the conclusion that no, they did not apply to him. Why? Well, there was a _'No talking to strangers'_ rule. But Harry had broken it many times and nothing ever happened. Plus, he didn't want the rules to apply to him. Strangers were nice to him, why should he be rude in return. 

 

Maybe this was the reason that he did not run away when he met, and talked to, the red-haired woman from the house at the corner of the street for the first time.

 

It was a cold day when Harry met her, one of the coldest days of the year.  He had been peeking from behind a rock as Dudley and his gang stood around a small blonde girl with piggy tails whose one hand was clutching her teddy. Harry could tell that Dudley was demanding her to give him her teddy even if he couldn't hear him. Because that's what Dudley did, he bullied people into giving him stuff.

 

Harry'd gripped the grass in his fist and was pulling it out in tufts when their eyes met. The girl, whose name he never found out, had looked at him with tearful eyes and he couldn't not help. The next thing he remembers is leaping out from behind the rock and standing in front of the girls. "Leave her alone, Dudley", he'd said.

 

"Wha are you goin ta do?" Dudley had turned his beady eyes towards him.

 

And Harry could tell the exact moment _he_ became the target instead. He ducked under Pier's arm when he tried to grab him and ran. He ran between the people in the park, thanking whatever entity was up there that it was a busy day, and tried to lose them.

 

Dudley was screaming, Harry was running when everything came to a stop and he collided with a figure on the street. He fell on his bottom. Dudley cheered.

 

Harry didn't spare a moment to remember his pain and jumped up again, narrowly escaping the hand that would've grabbed his foot. He would've run but a thin but strong hand grabbed his arm. 

 

He'd looked back at the figure opening his mouth to apologize when light brown eyes met his green and the world fell away. The lady flashed a quick smile at him, her eyes were soft as if seeing something that wasn't there and then she turned towards the gang.

 

She must have said something to them, scolded them probably judging by the cold and strict tone of her voice, and they ran away mumbling quick apologies.

 

Harry was too busy looking at her. The lady had been facing the park so she'd probably seen the whole scene and for some reason, it made him embarrassed. He wanted to look away but he couldn't. He had never seen anyone more pretty. No one more vibrant. She just radiated light and energy.

 

The lady had perfectly curled dark red hair pinned to one side, red lips, high heels, and a business outfit completed her look. For some reason, he wished her eyes were green like his instead. With that thought he stepped away from the woman, her grip had loosened and now her hand only rested on his arm softly. 

 

Hard eyes soften again when they looked at him, Harry felt like she was seeing someone else in his place. His Aunt had the same look sometimes when she told him that he was too much like his 'good for nothing' mother. He wondered who she saw, as it made her look soft and sad at the same time. 

 

The voices rushed back into his ears and the time seemed to resume when the woman raised a hand and gently touched his cheek as if by accident and then stepped back. 

 

He saw red lips moving and forced himself to pay attention.

 

"You have a strong heart and good instincts kid." A strong yet gentle voice told him, Harry nodded his head as if in a trance. The woman smiled, "Always trust them. It's better to be safe than dead." She said it as if repeating someone else's words and with another smile, she walked away. 

 

The advice stayed with him for some reason, maybe it was because of the smile that accompanied it. No one had smiled like that for Harry before. It stayed with him and proved fruitful in a graveyard almost 8 years later. It was a fateful day for more than one reason. 

 

The scene flashed before Harry's closed eyes even now.

 

_"Is this supposed to be part of the task?"_

_"I dunno," said Cedric. He sounded slightly nervous. "Wands out, d'you reckon?"_

_"Yeah," said Harry, glad that Cedric had made the suggestion rather than him._

_They pulled out their wands. Harry kept looking around him. He had, yet again, the strange feeling that they were being watched._

_"Someone's coming," he said suddenly. The advice rang in his ears 'Trust your instincts'_

_So when his scar ached he didn't think, he acted._

_Harry pulled the struggling Cedric after him and hid behind one of the larger headstones. He signaled at Cedric to stay quiet._   
_Cedric looked skeptical, "We should at least check, Harry." He whispered._

_"Wheres the boy?" A raspy sound made their eyes widen, Harry clutched at his head falling down to his knees with a soft gasp; His wand slipped from his fingers; as his knees hit the ground he reached out for his wand again trying to push back the pain._

_"Where is the boy?" The cold voice asked again, a rustling of robes and a second voice answered, "He must be hiding master, the portkey is right there."_

_"Then find him, you fool!" And the world exploded into pain again._

 

Harry's eyes flashed open. He clutched at his chest, the phantom pain seemed to radiate from his chest outwardly.

 

Breathe in.

 

One two three four.

 

Hold for seven.

 

Exhale at eight.  

 

Harry repeated the same drill over and over until it felt like he could breathe again. The panic seemed to have backed away, for now.

 

A simple glance at the clock showed the time as 5 am. Harry yawned stretching his arms, it seemed as if he was tired all the time nowadays. It may have something to do with the fact that he could hardly sleep more than a few hours without waking up screaming.

 

Remembering that, Harry reached up behind his head to untie the piece of cloth he had wrapped around his mouth to muffle his screams. The knot came undone after a few tries. Harry touched the small lines over his cheeks and sighed, knowing that the red lines would stay there for at least a few hours. 

 

Well, it was worth it. He came up with the trick after the first few weeks when he was given almost nothing to eat because apparently, his Uncle couldn't sleep with his 'racket' all night. 

Harry bound the red cloth around his arm and went ahead to complete his morning routine.

 

The red color kept taking his mind back to 'the red lady' as he called her in his mind.  Nowadays everything kept reminding him of her. Maybe it was because of what happened in the graveyard, her advice did save him even if it wasn't able to save his friend, or maybe it was because of the news that she was apparently back for some time. 

 

After so many years, she had probably forgotten him but Harry could never forget her. And he felt this deep yearning to talk to her, to thank her even if she didn't know what she'd done for him.

 

Because something worse could've happened if it wasn't for her words ringing in his ears. The thought prompted a sudden feeling of guilt mixed with determination.

 

Harry paid the owl waiting at his window for the daily prophet when he came out of the bathroom. The owl hooted at him and flew off, he cast a look at the front page before throwing it into the rubbish. When the people finally accepted Voldemort's return, it will be on the front page and that was all that Harry cared about. 

 

He saw some letters laying on the desk from the corner of his eye and chose to ignore them. As usual, they would be nothing but empty platitudes without any real information. 

 

Harry looked at the cloth on his arm, the red standing out against his pale skin. He looked back and forth between the cloth and his trunk for a while before shrugging. He had kept his head down and stayed out of trouble all summer; even relying on snippets of news from the bushes to keep in touch with the outside world.

 

He deserved to do at least this one thing for himself.

 

He pulled out the best clothes he had. An old dark blue button down that belonged to Dudley about three years ago and finally fit Harry relatively well along with his uniform trousers. He even ran a comb in his hair trying to trick it into laying down.

 

Harry climbed down the stairs with a relaxed stance, the Dursleys wouldn't be up until much later since it was Sunday. He grabbed an apple as it wouldn't be missed and rushed out of the house. As of this year, he was officially not required to make breakfast for the Dursleys.

 

It may be because he threatened to poison them with wizarding herbs when they pushed him a few times but well, he was the one suffering from recurring nightmares and guilt that never left him alone so he was allowed to be a little trigger happy. 

 

Sometimes he just felt like goading Dudley into hitting him just so he could feel the pain, it would feel like a well-deserved punishment.

 

Harry shook his head, trying to chase away the dark thought and bit into the apple. He passed the well-groomed front yards of the Privet Streets identical houses and looked for the one with the ungroomed garden. 

 

It was actually Aunt Petunia's horrified comments about that 'Red haired military' woman's house that grabbed his attention. After all, there was only one military woman that had ever resided in Privet Drive so he decided to check out whether or not the lady had come back to the neighborhood.

 

With the last bite taken, Harry threw the few seeds he had in his hand into the garbage can and rubbed his hands on his jeans to clean them off of the juice. 

 

A couple minutes later and he stood before the only different house in the whole street. It was a neat and clean house with a not so bad garden, Aunt Petunia was totally exaggerating about the state of the lawn. 

 

Harry's breath quickened and he wondered for a second whether or not he should do it. He almost walked away but with a shuddering breath managed to knock in the door somehow. He rubbed his hands over her trousers again looking left and right. 

 

The door opened without a sound and before him stood the woman that had plagued his mind. 

 

Brown eyes met green. 

 

She smiled. 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

  
She smiled and Harry felt the breath leave his lungs, "How may I help you, young man?" 

 

Once upon a time he'd looked at her and pretended that this is what his mother would have looked like.

 

Now, after seeing his mothers picture ~~and seeing her in the graveyard~~ he could say that the two women looked nothing alike, even the red of their hair was different. But it was the aura the lady had which still made him embarrassed and nervous as if he were standing in front of his real mother.

 

Harry unconsciously straightened his posture and cleared his throat, 

 

"Hello. I am not sure if you remember me... Em...We met when I was little...I-"

 

He couldn't continue. This was a mistake. Who was he kidding? Why would she remember the thin kid she shared a smile with so long ago. He was about to give up and walk away when a contemplative look appeared on the lady's features.

 

Her eyebrows furrowed for a second, the expression disappearing soon and it seemed like her whole demeanor changed.  

 

Only now Harry noticed how on guard she'd been.

 

The previous stiffness of her shoulders became prominent only when they relaxed, he would've never noticed it otherwise. Brown eyes lost their scrutiny and while the change might have escaped someone else, it didn't escape him cause he was used to analyzing every minuscule expression of his relatives.

 

"Of course. I remember you." He could almost hear the smile in her voice " The first time I saw you, you were being chased by a boy twice your size." 

 

"Three or four times my size now. " He quipped trying to push past his nerves, his hand reached up to ruffle his hair. He smoothed down his fringe instead. At her unasked inquiry, he clarified. "He's my cousin." 

 

With that he quietened down again, he was not good with people. He wanted to thank her but had no idea how to start.

 

The lady perhaps sensed his inner conflict, she gestured a come in motion with her hand. 

 

"I see. How about some tea?" 

 

Harry relaxed. Tea, tea he could do. "Em is there any acceptable answer except yes?"

 

The lady-he really needed to know her name-chuckled a little walking inside. "No. Not unless you want to be disowned by the gentlemen's society."

 

Harry kept his eyes on the back of her dress shirt instead of looking around like he wanted to. He didn't want to wrong step her by snooping into something she didn't want him to see. She did have ties to the army after all and though it might seem paranoiac, well better paranoid than kicked out. 

 

His gaze never shifted from the back of her dress shirt until they reached a parlor clearly not prepared for guests, there were files and books everywhere. 

 

"Sorry for the mess. I was not expecting guests." The comment was proper so was the emotion shown behind it but somehow Harry could feel she was not sorry for it. Maybe its because no one can judge her for being comfortable in her own home, especially not an uninvited guest. 

 

"Oh, I don't mind. Honestly. You should see my cousin's room. its like he has the power of disorder," 

 

It earned him another smile. He sat on one of the chairs and his eyes followed her as she went into another room, a kitchen probably, and came out with a steaming cup in her hand.

 

She placed it in front of him and grabbed a mug he hadn't noticed. She cradled it in her hands. Her mug looked almost half empty, he had obviously interrupted her tea time. Harry allowed himself to feel a little guilty but took a sip without mentioning it. The lady took one right after him.

 

A few minutes passed with both of them busy with their tea. Harry could feel the eyes looking over him. He'd once heard that emotions affected one's appearance, he absently wondered what she saw in him.

 

Did she see the months of guilt and fear that resided in his very bones? He pushed away that thought hurriedly. That was an entirely different can of worms, one that he wasn't ready to deal with yet.  

 

He appreciated that she was giving him time to gather himself up because that was exactly what she was doing even if she was very subtle about it.

 

"I wanted to thank you." He blurted out, feeling heat creep up his neck when the lady just looked at him silently as if willing him to continue.

 

After swallowing twice, he finally did. " You gave me some advice that day. " He looked down at his teacup seeing her nod. She remembered.

 

"It...It helped me. A lot. More than I can tell. If it wasn't for your advice I'd be..."-dead or worse. He wisely left the sentence incomplete, he did not need authorities over his head. "....just thank you...Your kindness, it meant more than you can imagine."

 

And it did. The few months the lady did stay in the neighborhood, she never forgot to exchange a smile with Harry in the park. They never talked again but the smiles gave him hope that maybe he wasn't that bad after all. Maybe he wasn't a freak because why would the lady smile at him if there was something wrong with him. 

 

A hand touched his most likely bright red cheek. He looked up and saw her lips turned up into a smile. It was different than the other smiles, the friendly and distant ones, it was more like the way she used to smile at him when he was younger. All soft and full of light. It brightened her eyes in a gentle way.

 

"You're welcome." That's all she said but it meant so much more, then she picked up her cup again and took a sip.

 

Harry took in a breath of relief, he wasn't sure he could take it if anything further was said. It was difficult enough to say all of that despite his embarrassment, he didn't want to embarrass himself further by, _god forbid_ , crying or something. 

 

It was kind of sad how a glance and touch of kindness after months of being ignored and forgotten nearly made him want to cry and tell a stranger everything. 

 

And a stranger is what she was. But she didn't feel like one. She never had. 

 

With a clink, Harry placed his empty teacup back on the glass table. "Right, um" he gulped, then licked his lips. 

 

"Yes? Anything else? " From anyone else, the manner would seem condescending but the lady managed to make it seem open and willing. She seemed like someone who could make you pour your whole heart in front of her with a few words and pointed glances.

 

And honestly, he wasn't sure how to take that. He forced himself to calm down, to push the raging emotions down. He'd exposed himself enough, too much. 

 

He, for the first time, actually looked at her. Past the beauty and the intoxicating aura. And he saw. He took in the analyzing eyes, absorbing his every word and motion. The softness of her eyes accompanied by curiosity, wanting to know everything there was to know. And he saw the danger behind the red lips and brown eyes.

 

_"-creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses."_

 

A soft drawl whispered in his mind. It described her perfectly. This is what made her so similar to Lilly Potter. And Harry, Harry wanted. He wanted to see more of it. 

 

His posture straightened again. He blinked away the slight moisture in his eyes and pushed down the nervousness. 

 

"I was wondering if I may have the name of my savior?" 

 

Something like amusement crept into her face as if she could see his question for what it was. A need, _a plea,_ to have some information in return after giving away too much.

 

"Margret Carter." The name was given after a slight pause as if she wondered at the wisdom of giving him her name, or her real name in any case. 

 

Harry vowed to keep the name close to his chest just like his own secrets, "Harry Potter, at your service. Miss Carter." He smiled. 

 

If Harry hadn't looked away to glance at the clock, he would've seen the widening of brown eyes before it was cleared away. 

 

"Just 'Peggy' would do, Mister Potter." Peggy glanced over Harry again. 

 

"Then I insist you call me 'Harry'." He titled his head a bit as thanks, wondering the reason for the sudden openness but not against it either. 

 

She smiled. This time Harry wasn't left breathless. This time, it felt like he could finally breathe again. So he did. 

 

Then when he left her house the gentle smile stayed with him. Just like it had before. 

__

* * *

 

_'I wish we could tell you more Harry'_

 

_'Miss ya, Mate.'_

 

_'Just keep out of trouble, kiddo.'_

 

_'Keep your head down, Harry. That is all you need to do.'_

 

Harry picked up a quill then stopped. There were so many things to say. And too much anger and hurt to say them.

 

The quill dropped from his fingers. He watched the few splashes of ink spreading on the parchment. With a sigh, he picked up the well-worn copy of _'Wildsmith's  Wonderbook: Book of Comprehensive Spells'_ and started going over the spells again.

* * *

_Burning. The left side of his face was burning. Or was it his right? He couldn't tell._

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

_The killing curse rang in his head. Something fell._

_He felt the gravel scratching his face. Wha- Cedric!_

 

Harry didn't wake up with a gasp. He woke up with acid burning in his throat and taste of blood in his mouth. He'd probably bitten his tongue again. He was confused for a while about the trees around him before he remembered his prompt trip to the park. It was hard enough to deal with his relatives on a good day, not to mention a day like _this_. 

 

He got up with some difficulty and stumbled to a trashcan to spit out the vile mixture of bile and blood. He ran a hand over his face and went to the drinking fountain. Cupping some water in his hand, he put it into his mouth, gargling with the water for a while to remove the nauseating taste from it. Then he drank some of the water to calm his empty stomach.

 

A glance at the darkening sky showed that he'd been in the park for at least three hours. More than enough time for his Uncle to calm down from his tantrum about his news seeking adventure under the bushes. 

 

Harry walked over to the lilac tree at the edge of the park and stood under it hearing the gentle rustling of the leaves. A while later, he heard the distant steps of a group's approach. 

 

'See you then,' said the voice of the devil known as Dudley.

 

'Bye, Dud!'

 

'See ya, Big D!'

 

Harry contemplated riling Dudley up for a second, it would help chase away the feeling of helplessness that had plagued him all summer for a while. But another figure caught his eye instead. 

 

It was Miss Carter. Or Peggy as she insisted to be called. 

 

He had seen her pass the park many times in the past few days but it seemed as if their interaction had returned to its original condition; smile exchanging.

 

Harry vowed to change that today. He didn't even notice when Dudley turned the corner and left, he went in the opposite direction to join the woman. 

 

"Hello, Miss Carter," Harry said to announce his presence even if he could see by her unfazed demeanor that she had seen him coming. 

 

"Harry." She said with a slight tilt of her head, silently reminding him of their agreement to call each other by their given names. 

 

Harry tried to smile but it came out more like a grimace, "May I join you?" He presumed that she was out for a walk cause she had nothing on her but a phone.

 

"I don't see why not." And so they walked.

 

_Tap tap tap._

 

Her fingers moved over the screen with a practiced ease. It was a weirdly hypnotic sight. Harry watched her for a while and just enjoyed the peace. His mind wandered to other things for a while. Positive things. Like the fact that he had actually done something productive this summer.

Reading all his textbooks and some extra DADA books he'd once bought! Hermione would be proud...if she bothered to actually talk to him. Harry mentally shook a finger at himself. Really? Two minutes of 'positive things' is the best he could take. Pathetic.

 

"Whats going on in that head of yours if I may  ask?"

 

The sudden question made him stumble a bit. He looked at Peggy. She was still looking down at her phone. A concentrated look was on her face. Harry allowed himself some time to think before answering.

 

"What makes you think something is going on?"

 

"That expression of yours." Peggy looked up, her full concentration on him now. She put the phone in her pocket. Her steps were light, almost soundless. "I've seen it more times than I wish. But it is usually on the face of soldiers after a battle. Not a fourteen-year-old."

 

Hah! Harry felt like laughing. She was more on point then she probably imagined.

 

"And what makes you think I am not a soldier." He said instead. Peggy stopped, causing him to stop as well. Her lips were pursed and her eyes too knowing. If it weren't for the fact that she was a muggle, he would've thought she _knew._

 

"We all have our own battles to fight Peggy." He continued.

 

"Very well said." Her lips tilted a bit, not a smile but something close to it. 

 

"Thanks." Harry started walking again.  "But I am not back from the battle, I'm still in it. Fighting." He mentally scolded himself for saying that, so much for not giving away everything. Might as well tell her you're a wizard! 

 

"Then I wish you luck" Peggy rubbed her arms. 

 

Harry felt a slight shiver run up his spine. He wished he had taken his jacket with him. 

 

"I wish you the same." Harry finally said causing Peggy to still. He was on thin ice but he wanted to get this out, "I noticed the files, it wasn't that difficult to connect that you aren't here for a vacation." 

 

They were standing in an ally. The light from one of the bulbs made Peggy look even more enchanting. He saw that unlike what he'd thought, Peggy actually had reddish-brown hair with the red becoming prominent when the light hit it just right. 

 

Peggy stared at him for a while before something like pride appeared on her face, "Like I said, Good instincts."

 

Harry grinned back at her. It seemed like another wall had broken between them with the few words.

 

Harry's smile fell away as the cold crept nearer. It didn't feel like the usual cold, it felt...unnatural. 

 

But how was that possible? 

 

"What is it?" a stern voice asked him. Harry wondered whether it was his expression that was alarming her or the sudden feeling of cold and dread. 

 

"I-" He heard the dementors before he saw them. It was coming from both sides of the alley,  something was drawing long, hoarse, rattling breaths. Then a dark figure appeared at the end of the alley.

 

A towering, hooded figure was gliding smoothly towards him, hovering over the ground sucking on the night as it came. The world felt muted and all Harry could think was,

 

_No.Please.Not Again._

 

He turned towards Peggy to warn her and saw that she had taken out a gun from somewhere and was pointing it in the general direction of the dementor.

 

"-speak to me, Harry!" He realized she had been calling him for the past few minutes. He had frozen.

 

"You can't-?" With a jolt, it became clear what was happening. Peggy couldn't see the dementors. "Peggy please, I need you to trust me on this. Stay away from the cold and _whatever happens_ , keep your mouth shut. Please." He took out his wand and pointed at the dementor closer to him. 

 

" ** _Expecto Patronum!!!_** " He shouted. Only a few wisps of white light came out. 

 

No, No, _**NO**_!

 

They were here for him, he couldn't let them get to Peggy. Harry tried to focus on happy thoughts but there were no happy thoughts. How-

 

He almost screamed when the dementor grabbed him by his neck. He could hear Peggy shooting the other one. The edge of his vision darkened. His wand was slipping from his sweaty fingers. For just a second, only a second, he wondered what it would be like to just let go. 

 

"..Harry", then her soft whisper got through to his head. 

 

Harry clenched his fingers around his wand until it hurt, holding it in his fist. He tried to focus his thoughts. Ron, Hermione, Sirius. His mind went over the memories over and over again until it seemed like they were slipping from his mind. He heard the sound of someone falling down.

 

Not Peggy. Not Peggy. Please, he couldn't let anyone get hurt because of him again. Please!

 

" ** _EXPECTO PATRONUM_**!!"

 

Harry fell on the ground gasping for breath as the glowing form of Prongs came out of his wand and pushed back the dementor.

 

"Right there" He pointed at the other dementor who was leaning over Peggy. 

 

Peggy gasped a bit as the dementor was driven away, her body arching a bit from the ground. She stood up faster then he had ever seen after such an attack and shook her head a little, maybe to clear it. She was looking around with something akin to worry, not fear. She stumbled a bit. Her eyes met his. Harry saw the glazed look to her eyes and it worried him.

 

Prongs had chased away the dementors and was leaning against his side now. Harry secretly ran a hand over his side before it disappeared and walked up to Peggy wondering how he was going to explain what had happened.

 

The fact that he just used magic in front of a muggle was ringing warning bells in his mind but he was still under too much shock for it to register. 

 

When he reached her, he realized that something was terribly wrong. Peggy was looking around worried even though the cold was long gone and the sounds had returned. She was gripping the gun so tightly that it looked like it hurt. She was looking but not seeing. She opened her mouth to speak but couldn't force the words out. Dazed and confused. 

 

Harry tried to touch her shoulder, "Peggy?" He asked softly.

 

The gun was pointed at him instead. Harry jumped back and raised up his shaking hands in the universal sign of 'I mean you no harm'. He was absently impressed to notice that her hands were steady. She could probably kill him faster than that dementor would've. 

 

"Look, I know you are confused but-" He saw something small move from the corner of his eye and as a reflex pushed Peggy away. She fell to the ground, hitting her head.

 

Terrible white hot pain rippled through his arm making him grunt as he almost fell down on his knees.

 

 _I need the boy alive, you can do with the spare as you will._ The cruel memory pierced through the pain.

 

Harry grabbed his wand with his left hand to throw a hasty disillusionment charm towards Peggy. At least the Deatheaters won't get her. He sent out a disillusionment charm and a repelling charm in record time. Peggy's fallen body disappeared so well that even he couldn't make out where she was.

 

He would've been proud of his accomplishment if it weren't for the pain coursing through his body.

 

There was a shout before heavy booted footsteps drew nearer. Harry could barely pay attention, it felt like his whole right side was on fire. He wished he had practiced the various healing spells he'd read this summer.

 

"Where is she? Where'd she go? What did the boy do." A man whispered in awe. Harry saw the shadow of two men, one of them was reaching for him. Harry took a deep breath to brace himself. He attacked right before the man could grab him.

 

" _Coniunctivitis!!_ " The man groaned with pain as his eyes swelled shut. Harry took it as a chance to run, he had to lead the men as away from the invisible woman as possible and hope that his guess about magical people keeping an eye on him was true.

 

Harry heard the footsteps behind him. The air was burning his lungs. He stumbled a bit. Harry's breath was knocked out of his lungs as a body slammed into his making him grunt they both hit the ground. 

  
Harry grunted as the body above him held his body down, his hands inched towards where his wand had fallen praying that by some miracle it would come to him.  He took a deep shuddering breath that turned into a pained moan when the man above him applied force to his wounded side.

 

"Stay down." A hoarse voice whispered in his ear. A boot kicked away his last hope. The weight above him moved away providing some relief. He could probably get up now but he couldn't find the strength to do so. The pain was taking over his every sense. 

 

He almost didn't notice as he was flipped. The stary sky filled his vision. He could hear another figure approaching them, probably the other man. His vision was going out, the darkness overtaking it. 

 

Something moved into his vision. The last thing he saw was long brown hair surrounding the masked face of the figure leaning above him. Dark blue eyes that looked hauntingly empty bore into his own.

 

"Hail Hydra" The man whispered before Harry's eyes fluttered shut and everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. So here is the deal. *Deep breath* I kind of scrapped the whole story and am rewriting it now. Why? Well, the answer is quite simple. When I started the story I put in a lot of original characters (like too many) and with that, I promised that they will not take over the story...they ended up taking over the story. And I just wasn't happy with the way I was writing it so here's the 2.0 version. I really hope you like it, let me know what you think in the comments.
> 
> Anyways now that I am done with the big announcement,
> 
> *Wildsmith: She was actually a fairly famous witch, most commonly known for being a wizarding inventor and the creator of Floo-powder. She has her own silver chocolate frog card.
> 
> I don't know if she ever wrote a book but being an inventor, she probably did *Shrug*
> 
> -PenPal
> 
> P.S: I am not really satisfied with the summery so if anyone wants to help, the help will be greatly appreciated. xx


	3. Chapter 3

  
A week after the infamous dementor attack on Little Whinging, a strange thing happened in Harry potter's room at Privet drive 4. Only Hedwig was there to see it and with great curiosity, she began to watch what was going on.

 

The room had been very still all the day after Harry had left it a week ago.  The stillness had only been broken by the skylight and the wind that rushed in through the open window. Hedwig had, in fact, found it rather dull; Just as she did whenever her Harry left, she had decided to go for a fly and had just come back. Her human had thankfully left the cage open. She had been preening when her attention was attracted by a loud crack.

 

The loud crack was followed by two people materializing into the room. Hedwig looked at the men curiously as no one but her harry came into this room, the woman with long neck usually hit the door and left.

 

One of the men was her Harry's godfather, and the other was a man who looked too tired for his age, but Hedwig didn't know that. She only knew that the men were invading the silence of the room; the man with the long black hair was looking around with something akin to horror. She remembered this man as the one her Harry often sent letters to.

 

How much she understood of the talk she heard cannot be said; but, if perhaps she had understood it all, she would probably have become greatly alarmed and worried.

 

“What did Petunia do to him?” Sirius said in a horrified whisper, he looked pale with shock.

 

“Keep your eyes open,” Remus took a deep breath and he began to walk slowly around the miserable little room, looking at the things trying to find some clue.

 

Sirius went to the narrow bed. He pressed his hand upon the mattress.

 

“As hard as a stone,” He spat and examined the one thin pillow, "Patched thin blanket, sheets ragged, even a house elf gets better beddings than this. I knew that wench shouldn't have gotten Harry!" He growled.

 

Remus looked around, this was looking to be a hopeless endeavor. He went and opened the closet, glaring at the hand me downs inside. He could never have imagined his pseudo-godson was treated like this. Things were adding up and making a picture that he didn't like. He raised a hand and rubbed his eyes knowing they must have turned golden from his building anger. 

 

He closed the door with a sigh, "Its no use, Sirius. There is no clue as to where Harry could have gone or-or who took him."

 

"Don't. Just _don't,_ Moony" Sirius shook a finger at him, "Snivellus made it clear that Voldemort doesn't have him."

 

"Voldemort no longer trusts Severus. We can't be sure that the information is correct."

 

Sirius was glaring at him now, Remus clenched his teeth. He hated the situation they were in as much as Sirius did, but he was not delusional. Harry was gone. And they needed to account for every possibility if they wanted to find him. 

 

"Arabella said she saw the dementors escaping, which means Harry must have used his wand to cast his Patronus. And if he had his wand, then he could've escaped."

 

"I think you're forgetting that Harry is just a boy, Sirius. If they ambushed him...", Remus chose not to complete his sentence, still not willing to say what they knew to be a possibility. There was a chance that Harry was gone for good.

 

Sirius shook his head in denial, "He's got his mother's stubbornness and the Potter luck. He's gonna get through this, Moony. You'll see."

 

Remus opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it. He pursed his lips and nodded instead. 

  
"There is a loose floorboard here" Sirius suddenly said startling Remus. But not too surprised because of course Sirius would notice something like that. Sirius stepped aside from where he was standing near the bed and knelt down. He jammed his fingers into the floorboard with a desperation that almost made Remus flinch. 

 

Sirius pulled out the floorboard and stilled. When Sirius said nothing and kept staring, Remus peered over his shoulder. He was confused for a second before it clicked what he was looking at. 

 

Harry's possessions.

 

The small space was filled with what looked to be a few of Harry's valuables; A photo album; Some books; A small pack of sweets: A muggle notebook and his invisibility cloak.

 

Remus watched as Sirius carefully picked up the cloak and ran his hands over it with reverence. He knew the bittersweet memories Sirius was recalling. The nights spent whispering and planning, the days of mischief and their many misadventures. He wondered if Sirius could also taste the stolen fire-whiskey on his tongue.

 

He knelt down beside him and gathered all Harry's stuff (except the cloak that was still held in Sirius's hands). He then put it in the small bag, having an extension charm on it, at his hip.

  
"He had to hide his belongings because he thought she'd burn them."  Remus's head snapped towards Sirius at his hateful tone. Sirius clutched the cloak in his fist in a grip that bordered on painful.

 

"Let's not...lets not assume, Sirius. It could be a number of things-"

 

"I know what I'm saying, Remus!" Sirius whispered hatefully, Remus preferred it when he shouted the silent rage was a lot deadlier, his knuckles were almost white now, "Or did you forget that I was abused as well." He stood up and threw the cloak towards Remus. Remus caught it easily and put it in the bag hanging from his hip. 

 

He raised his hands in the universal sign of accepting defeat, " You know I didn't mean that, Sirius. This isn't the place for this conversation, let's just calm down. Harry needs our help, not our anger."

  
Sirius ran a hand in his hair, grimacing at the greasy feel and turned towards Harry's desk. He picked up some of the parchment scattered on it and picked up one of them, there were ink splatters on it as if someone dropped a pen on it. The other one read,

 

_Dear Sirius,_

 

That's it. There was nothing more. No trace, no clue as to where Harry could've gone or who took him. It all came back to the dementor incident. But something just didn't feel right. 

 

Sirius turned before Remus could touch his shoulder, "Let's go. Dumbledore must be waiting for us."

 

Remus nodded and they both apparated out with a crack. Downstairs, Vernon grumbled a bit in his sleep. Hedwig flapped her wings and flew out the window.

* * *

 

 

The paintings in the headmaster's office in Hogwarts looked apprehensive as none of them had seen Albus Dumbledore this visibly upset in recent memory. His normally grandfatherly face was grave, the twinkling eyes unfocused and his shoulders sagged as if under a heavyweight as he unthinkingly stroked Fawkes, his familiar.

 

The elderly wizard was widely recognized as the most powerful wizard of his time and held more positions then he cared to count. As he listened to the soothing trill of the Phoenix, memories played before his eyes with no need of a pensive.

 

_"I am telling you, Albus. I noticed the guard was missing and went looking for Harry. I wouldn't have even believed that there was actually a dementors attack in Privet Drive if I hadn't seen them fleein' away. And if it weren't for the ministry notice, it would've never occurred to me that something happened to Harry."_

 

 _"We examined his room. There was no residual magic, dark or otherwise in his room or elsewhere in the house, he disappeared without a trace, Albus."_ Remus lupins controlled voice declared. 

 

 _"They mistreated him. You...You left him there.How...why Albus? "_ Sirius blacks silently accusing voice echoed in his ears making him close his eyes with sorrow.

 

Another child that he had failed in so many ways. He'd isolated him in his desperate desire to keep him safe and now the bright green-eyed boy was nowhere to be found. He hoped against hope that Harry'd find a way to survive this cause Albus had no idea what he'd do if he didn't.

 

Albus sighed taking his hand off Fawkes and picked up the letter declaring the expulsion of Harry Potter. Severus Snape stormed into, his black robe billowing behind him. 

 

Albus put down the letter and rubbed his nose, "Take a seat, Severus" he said tiredly.

 

"Any further leads on the brat, Albus?" Severus inquired, his face morphing into an unpleasant sneer, "Did someone investigate his house?" 

 

"Sirius Black and Remus Lupin did so yesterday," Albus looked at him reprovingly when he snorted. "Severus, I need you to go to the Ministry and track down Harry's wand. Amelia Bones will assist you"

 

Severus leaned back in his chair, he allowed some frustration to show on his face, "You do know there is a possibility he just ran away. I wouldn't be surprised if he ran at the first sign of trouble." 

 

Albus let an empty chuckle escape him, " This is Harry Potter we're talking about Severus. He doesn't know how to walk away from trouble."

 

"As you wish, Albus," Severus said through clenched teeth before getting up and walking out the door.

 

The Headmaster shook his head in remorse and resumed stroking his familiar, he fervently prayed that Harry Potter was safe where ever he was. 

* * *

 

There was pressure at the back of his eyes. It hurt. Something cold was pressing to the side of his skull, Harry's head was pounding. He opened his eyes fighting against the instinct to keep them closed. It hurt. But he needed to know, he needed to see. He tried to raise his hand and rub his face.

_Click._

_Click._

Harry looked down in confusion, there were metal chains around his wrists. Chains? What were they? He shook his head trying to clear away to blurriness. The silver of the chains looked pretty against his light skin, Harry stared at them for a while. Handcuffs.

 

Why was he wearing handcuffs? There were voices around him, but couldn't focus to understand them. They seemed to be insistent on him paying attention, but he couldn't concentrate. What was wrong with him?

 

A door opened and a figure appeared...A woman...yes it was a woman with white...no blonde hair pulled up in a bun.

 

"Any improvement? Did you test his DNA? " She asked loudly making him wince when his headache came back with full force. She pulled out a glass vial and a needle, Harry tried to make a weak effort to stop her but she grabbed his arms, her nails dug into his flesh. Harry took in a shaky breath when he felt a prickle on his arm.

 

"Focus." She snapped her fingers in front of his eyes trying to make him focus. What? He tried to follow her words. 

 

"Too much anesthetic.",she spoke in the same monotone voice. "Hold back on the Ketamine." She looked to the side of the room. Harry followed her gaze with his unfocused eyes. A blurry form was leaning against the wall. 

 

"He kept burning out machines, had to do something to keep him down until you came back. " Another woman retorted.

 

"Burning out machines, indeed. You certainly are an interesting specimen." The woman said it in the same way Aunt Marge talked about one of her dogs.

 

The world went dark again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wotcher everyone! I've been having a bit of a writer's block so I thought something was better than nothing. Well, it is something indeed. I'm not very happy with the chapter, it feels too much like a filler but I am hoping the next one will be better. Tell me what you think in the comments. See ya next time.
> 
> -Marey


	4. Chapter 4

_Avada Kedevra!"_

_There was the sound of something hitting the ground. Harry almost screamed when a hand fell on his shoulder and shook him._

_"Come on Potter, we need to get out of here. You need to get up.", a scared and hurried voice got through the pain that clouded his mind. Cedric. Cedric was fine._

_Someone was trying to kill them._

_Harry turned a little and grabbed the hand on his shoulder, he was pulled up sharply. Cedric's cheek was cut, the blood painted his cheeks._

_"Whoever that is, is smart. There are anti-apparition wards over this graveyard." Cedric whispered while pulling Harry with him, both of them ducked around another statue as spells continued to fly towards them, "Right. He's not trying to kill us."_

_Harry's incredulous look made him explain quickly, " The other person scolded him for using the killing curse, said it might've hit the boy." Cedric threw another spell over the statue, there was a slight scream of pain. Cedric's face scrunched up with disgust, Harry noticed that his hands were shaking._

_He was scared too._

_But that didn't mean he was going to give up. Harry took a deep breath and tried to push back the pain, " If we can get to the portkey, it'd probably take us back."_

_"Good thinking."_

_Harry cursed when the head of the statue broke and almost crushed his foot. He jumped back, realizing his mistake when he came in the direct line of a spell. He prepared himself for the pain but the spell was deflected right before it could hit him._

_"You're welcome," Cedric said breathlessly._

_Harry joined him and started throwing every little spell he knew towards the figure in the middle of the graveyard. He wasn't as fast as Cedric but he hoped he could at least buy them some time._

_The portkey was laying on the other side of the broken statue, all they needed to do was get one hit in and they could grab it._

_Harry saw something coming towards him from the corner of his eye. He moved to the side instinctively. The silver poison like spell almost burned his skin as it passed him by._

_Harry turned and the first thing he saw was grey eyes wide with shock._

_The second was the deep red stream of blood dripping on the dirt below. And before he could think, or even breathe, Cedric dropped to the ground with an inhuman scream holding the stump of his arm._

_The spell. The spell meant for him had hit Cedric. He had stepped aside and the spell hit Cedric. The spell hit just below his elbow and severed the arm._

_Merlin, there was blood. There was so much blood._

_Harry couldn't speak, couldn't think. He stumbled forward, there was a crunching of leaves behind him. He should move. Cedric was curled around his arm now._

_"C-Cedric. Oh god, Cedric."_

_Steps of footsteps. A flash of a spell. Harry fell down like a puppet with its strings cut. All he saw before his eyes closed was the dirt below him stained with dark red blood._

* * *

 

Harry was tied to a headstone, the rope rubbed against his wrists as he struggled. He pulled until he could feel the warm blood flowing down his hands from where the ropes cut into his skin. He bit back a wince, he had to get free. He had to save Cedric and himself, he had to-

"Good You're already awake" A monotonous voice declared, Harry could make out a blurry figure standing in front of him. He groaned as the pain in his head made itself known. Right. He wasn't in the graveyard, he was...where was he? He was taken by someone.

The blonde woman...she was here before. She...his insides turned cold as he remembered her callous words like he was some sort of animal she could study.

"I was just about to wake you up, how are you feeling? " The woman said as if attempting to be kind but Harry was fooled, he remembered her words from...how long had he been unconscious?

"How long was I out?" He croaked out not expecting an answer. His throat was parched and it hurt to talk.

"About a week or so.", she replied writing something on the notebook she was holding in her hands.

He winced as the chains rubbed against his sore and injured wrists. A week. A week had passed and no one came for him. He wondered if they even noticed. Harry glanced at the woman again wondering where her wand was.

"Who are you?" He finally asked.

The woman hmm-ed before looking up, " . That's the wrong question. The real question is who, or rather what are you."

Wait. What?

And suddenly everything came into perspective. The fact that the woman didn't have a wand, that Voldemort hadn't appeared to kill him yet and the most telling fact that he wasn't cursed, he was shot. What had the man said? 'Hail Hydra', what was Hydra?

His mind whirled.

He was taken by muggles. Muggles that were most likely attacking Peggy, not him. They wanted Peggy. He hoped they didn't get her.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"They never do," the woman said, a little bit of irritation creeping into her words. "Not without persuasion that is." She tilted her head a little, "How about you save us both the trouble and just answer me. What kind of mutant are you?"

Right. He'd used magic in front of not one but three muggles. Of course, they were curious. But Harry knew the consequences of talking about magic, there was a reason it was a secret and if they knew...if they knew they would want to know how magic works and they'd probably capture other wizards as well.

Harry opened his mouth to talk but it hurt. He shook his head. The woman looked angry before she seemed to realize something, she picked up a bottle from beside her chair and leaned towards him. Harry leaned back.

She rolled her eyes, grabbed his chin and poured the water in his mouth, some of it overflowed and drenched his shirt. Harry groaned when the stitches on his side pulled a little when tried to bring his mouth nearer to the bottle He felt some strength returning to his body as the water quenched his thirst, he used the time to think.

The woman thought of him as a mutant. Harry had a vague idea of what mutants were from Hermione's rants about mutant rights and it might just save him now. He drank the whole bottle before he heard her voice again.

"Go on then,"

"I'm not sure I am a mutant." Harry answered before explaining seeing her agitated face, "Not a full one, at least." He desperately thinks over the whole incident to remember which spells he used." I can cause a flash of light that irritates peoples eyes, that's about it."

"I'd believe you, but that doesn't explain how Agent Carter escaped."

Harry remained silent.

She closed her notebook," Let me tell you something, you can stay silent all you want but we're going to get what we want anyway. You see, she'll come for you and when she does, we'll be ready."

With that, she stood up from her chair and stepped toward him. Harry tensed, she took some sort of metal bracelet out of her coat pocket and with a quick move she snapped it on his wrist. Harry's eyes were drawn to it, there was a slight sound of the door opening before the woman walked out.

Right before she closed the door, she addressed him one last time.

"If I were you, I would keep my head down,"

Harry didn't know whether to cry or laugh at the irony. So, he sat there alone with his thoughts as minutes passed by. His mind ran over several outcomes of the situation he was in but none of them ended in his favor.

The brightness of the room disturbed him. It felt like being back at the infirmary at Hogwarts but without Madam Pomfrey to lighten the harshness. The blood from his cuts crusted on his wrists and felt disgusting.

It may have been minutes or hours before the door opened again and unwillingly Harry let out a breath of relief, some company was better than none. He could barely live with his thoughts on a daily basis, he'd probably go mad if his thoughts and guilt were the only things accompanying him.

"Is this the boy then?" , a soft sensual voice called out.

Harry shivered a little. Someone was walking towards him, he couldn't find the strength to tense up. He hadn't eaten for so long that the hunger felt like one of the constant things occupying his mind.

A hand gentle hand cupped his cheek, "Such beautiful eyes." Harry realized he'd been looking into her eyes. It was just difficult to focus.

It became a little easier when the lady moved closer, Harry gasped a little. Her eyes, her eyes were green. Not green like his but bright green with flecks of yellow surrounding them and cat-like pupils. The first word that popped into his mind was 'snake' followed by 'Dangerous'.

Her thumb rubbed small circular patterns on his cheek,

"You're not who I was expecting but I'll make do." Nails dug into his skin, Harry winced moving his head aside. There was a sudden intake of breath."Oh my, what have we here?"

His head jerked back as the lady pulled back his hair. Harry suddenly realized what she was looking at. His scar. He tried to headbutt her. She moved back with a laugh, "You've bought me a gem, Doctor. You've brought me Harry Potter!"

Harry froze with fear.

"Ma'am?" The woman from earlier asked tentatively.

The was a slight hmm as the lady circled him, looking at him from top to bottom. "I've heard about you, darling." She huskily whispered to him, "For years and years, there've been whispers you. And now that I have you, I can know what is it that makes a legend."

She turned towards the woman, "I need you to run tests on him. I giving you the clearance needed to know about Project Transmutation. Don't let me down, Doctor 'cause my touch may be soft but a viper's strike is not."

Harry cursed internally. She knew. This woman. This-This viper knew who he was. He'd almost gotten away and now, now they knew. The 'Viper' as he'd termed her strode out of the room, with the doctor right at her heels. Merlin knows what they'd do to him now.

Time passed by. One agonizing hour at a time and soon Harry found that he'd lost the track of time. He just knew that one morning(night?) he woke up and his chains were gone. His wrists were bandaged and he was laying on a bed in a small room. He sat up despite the pain and limped to the door, there was no sound. .What was the chance...

"It's open" he whispered unbelievably as he turned the knob and the door flung open. He tried to take a step out of the room. The pain just came out of the blue. He screamed as the metal bracelets on his wrist burned. He fell on his knees gasping as the pain faded away, He had been naive to think that they would just let him leave like that.

He looked up as the door opened again and someone stepped in. Harry got up and backed away seeing the Doctor enter the room.

"Sorry about the whole 'can't get out of the room thing ' we can't have you run away you see" She explained as though to a child. She looked..different. Not as in appearance no, she still had the blonde hair and dull brown eyes it was her way of standing that was different. A sort of smug pride hung around her. He wondered whether 'capturing' him had earned her some sort of promotion.

Harry took a few steps back leaning against the wall as far away from her as possible until her figure blurred a little and he could barely make out her features. The lady looked at him for a few moments before shaking her head and sitting on the chair he hadn't noticed, what he did notice was the fact that the chair was bolted to the ground just like the bed was.

"You're a wizard." She suddenly spoke, telling him not asking.

Harry's stomach dropped eyes going wide as the whole body went stiff, she knew. They knew, the muggles they knew-

"No," Harry whispered under his breath, the word coming out as a plea, not as an answer.

He'd unknowingly broken the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy and it was unintentional, he never meant to expose wizards, he just, he just wanted to help.

He could see something hurled towards him, he caught it, of course, Seeker's reflex. He stared at the object in his hands, his glasses. He wondered whether they would shock him as well but decided to take the risk. The room came to a focus. Harry absently registered that he could see better than he ever had but he was too busy panicking to admire his new vision.

Perhaps the Doctor could see that he was at the verge of a panic attack, she put down the file she was holding on her lap and stared at him, "You're not the first of your kind we've had...experience with. But it was quite a long time ago."

They...They knew of wizards or at least some of them did. The doctor, she didn't know about wizards not until the viper gave her access to...project transmutation, wasn't it? So the higher-ups of this organization probably knew about wizards but lower members didn't, they thought wizards were actually mutants. Harry vaguely remembered Hermione saying something about the muggle prime minister meeting with Dumbledore.

But what did they want? What did Hydra do to the wizards they had 'experience' bit his tongue, no matter how willing she appeared the doctor was one of his kidnappers. He couldn't give her more information than they had, who knew how much they knew about wizards.

Brown eyes bore into his own even across the room, Harry sat down with his back against the wall looking at her.

"Go on, ask. I can tell you have questions, who doesn't."

Harry contemplated his actions, he knew she was searching for information and he needed information as well but how much was he willing to tell them?

"You wanted to run tests on me," he started carefully, " If you've had experience with wizards before...how come you need to test me. Shouldn't you already know whatever you wanted to know."

There was a small tilt of the Doctor's lip, " We _did_ run tests, the technology was different back then but yes we did find some answers. But," A weird gleam entered her dull eyes, " the test subject usually ended up dead. Some due to chemical reactions, others suicides." She leaned back, " It's tragic really."

Test subjects. They-They killed wizards by running tests on them, like-like they were lab rats or something. And for what? To satisfy their curiosity. Harry felt bile rise in his throat, it burned the back of his mouth. They were probably going to cut him open to find out how his magic worked.

"Why are you telling me this? " He managed to say because she wasn't asking questions, she wasn't probing like he expected.

"To make sure you know that there is a small chance of your survival but only-" She stood up and walked towards the door, her back facing him,"if you cooperate."

Something cold settled in Harry's bones and at that moment he knew, this was more dangerous than anything he had ever faced before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a little treat for you on my birthday. Finally something is happening! I hope you liked this chapter, it has one of my favorite paragraphs I've written. Lets see if you can guess which one. Let me know how you feel about this chapter in the comments. And remember,  
> Comments= Bribe to write *wink*  
> -Marey


	5. Chapter 5

 

There was no light or sound or smell. There was only darkness and silence and cold. So cold.

 

_Breathe._

 

By now the pain had stopped. Numb. He couldn't feel his hands anymore. The cold. The cold was in his blood, his lips quivered.

 

Dementors? No, it wasn't them.

 

_Breathe._

 

How do you scream or breathe with no air?

 

**You don't.**

 

_Breathe._

 

Harry fell to the ground with a strangled gasp, broken glass digging into his palm. His magic, he looked around with horror, was tearing through the machines in the room, sparking and burning. He gulped the watery air feeling his lungs burn. It felt like he was still drowning in icy cold water.

 

Tears clouded his red eyes as coughing made it impossible to breathe properly.

 

"Do we have the necessary readings, Marcus? I do hope for your sake that you remembered to note down the readings of Subject 826's test on his physical file.  His data never last beyond the first ten minutes ." 

 

His gulped a few times, anger rising up inside him as he raised his eyes to glare at the figure standing in front of him, Her heels were right in front of his face and her hand raised to shield her eyes from the sparks. He paused, chest rising and falling shallowly. 

 

"Stop calling me that, My.name.is.Harry" He gritted out. He was ignored as usual, as if he wasn't even there.

 

"Yes, Ma'am." Marcus, a balding man in his mid-forties, answered in the same bored tone.

 

"Take him away." The Doctor nodded to someone standing behind him. 

 

With that, two brutes of Hagrid's built but none of his kindness picked his weak and hurting body and carried him to his room/cell.

 

Harry grunted, hitting the floor as they threw him into his newest 'room'. They never let him live in a room more than one day, maybe they thought he'd escape if he got too familiar with his surroundings.

 

Harry felt a prickling feeling spreading in his fingers and knew from experience that it will soon go from merely distracting to excruciatingly painful. He wondered what was worse, the tests to check his 'endurance' like today or the ones where they messed with his head. Moving towards his inviting bed, Harry crawled in gingerly pulling the sheets over his bruised body. The endurance tests were physically taxing and there were times he just wanted it to stop. He wanted everything to stop. But it was the other tests that scared him, the experiments with his mind.

 

The Doctor said it was to test how much stronger a wizard's mind was and why. He just thought it was torture.

 

The first time it happened was about a week and a half after they first captured him. Harry had woken up connected to a ton of machines, his whole body was restrained and his mouth bound shut.

 

Then, then the machines started. He didn't remember anything except pain after that. Pain that could rival the cruciatus any day. His mind was distorted for hours, he couldn't remember where he was, he couldn't remember who he was. And even though he regained his thought process after a day, it still scared him.

 

The Doctor was disappointed and delighted at the same time, delighted to find out that wizards had more mental endurance as well and disappointed that he was able to regain his mind. A shiver went through his spine.

 

Harry held his shaking hand in front of his face grimacing. This was the second time he had failed, the second time his magic had betrayed him. He didn't want his magic to 'protect' him when they were experimenting on him if it didn't show up when he was alone when it wasn't there to help him escape. He didn't want to give them information, he didn't want them to see his magic. It may be a small victory but it allowed him to live with himself.  At least he was fighting. 

 

Harry stared at his hand, concentrating as deep as he could on the tight feeling in his gut. 

 

_Come on. work._

_Just one spark. **Please.**_

 

But nothing happened, nothing ever happened. Not when he actually needed it to. Even his magic abandoned him when he was in need. Harry thought with a depressed sigh curling up into himself.

 

* * *

  
The days passed in a blur for Harry. A blur of pain and nightmares. He didn't know how long he had been here, hours and days blurred into a mess. It was getting harder to wake up each morning and the nightmares were...getting even more confusing than before. 

  
Dreams about people being tortured whose screams combined with his own and echoed in Harry's head (Maybe they were memories instead), Magic being so close yet so out of his reach, of him losing who he was and- and of fighting.

 

He still had dreams about Voldemort but they were out of reach, like looking across a foggy mirror. And his head hurt, constantly. He sometimes wondered if his mind was too busy now, too busy protecting itself to bother with Voldemort. 

 

So, every morning Harry would wake up trembling, sweating. He would then spend the rest of his time making plans to escape though he usually didn't act on any of them because none of them were applicable. He was too weak, too vulnerable. They kept him that way.

 

There was a voice in the back of his head that suspiciously sounded like Ron which taunted him of how Slytherin he was acting.  Because a Griffindor wouldn't take all this lying down, he'd either escape or die trying to escape. But Harry, Harry was always a survivor. He had learned how to do that at the Dursleys, just try to go on with whatever was going on until the right time to act.

  
The day after his latest 'session', Harry woke up to a good day. And yes, there were good days.  They weren't good in the traditional sense of the word as in he was still imprisoned and it wasn't like some miracle happened and he was rescued. No, that was almost too good to be true at this point. But, when it was a good day and he woke up by himself without the shrill ringing of the alarm well it meant that there was no 'session' scheduled that day. 

 

Today was a good day. Harry looked up at the ceiling, his muscles still throbbing from the latest torture they had to go through. God, he hated this room, hated the straps of machines that cut into his arms and the stillness, he loathed it. It made him realize how lonely he really was.

 

Harry put a halt to his roaming thoughts, he found himself lost more often than not. He needed to escape. He at least needed to try because he was losing hope and he knew, God, he knew if he gave up he'd never get out. Never.

 

He'd observed these people, if you could call them that, enough to determine that they had a lot of faith in their methods. They were proud and why shouldn't they be, their methods were very effective. The little bands on his wrists managed to keep him trapped in his rooms for so many weeks after all. they electrocuted him whenever he tried to step outside unless he was led out for an experiment or test.

 

But the thing is, the thing they overlooked and the thing that would hopefully allow him to escape was that imprisonment and torture usually resulted in severe weight loss. Weight loss that he would use to his advantage. Because you see his bands, his anchors were made of some sort of metal. And when the time was right, when his body lost enough weight he could possibly slip them off. 

 

"Come on," Harry twisted his hand, holding the band with one hand and trying to slip the other one out. He tried this every few days. He was laying on the bed, on his side with his hands under the blanket so the cameras wouldn't pick up on it. He'd learned his lesson after they'd caught him trying to hide away the spoons that came with the food.

 

He held back a wince when the band cut into the skin of his hand, the little knuckle was his pinky was proving to be a hindrance but after several minutes of struggle, Harry was finally, finally able to take out his hand. It took a while longer on his other hand as that one was a bit swollen from where a glass piece had dug into it but it worked. It worked and Harry was free. 

 

Harry had to hold back a smile of success. He hadn't smiled for so long, it felt like he'd almost forgotten what it felt like. It'd been weeks since he was stuck here, it had to be! He had lost track of time whenever they experimented on him but that didn't matter anymore because his hands were free. Harry slowly sat up with his wrists tucked under his armpits, the long sleeves of his brown shirt were pulled over the wrists to hide the fact that his bands were gone.

 

Then, with deliberate casualness, he climbed down the bed and stood near the door looking outside from the small thick plastic-like window of the door. He'd done this enough over the past week that it wasn't unusual.

 

This was it, he only got one chance at this. Harry took a deep breath and put his hand on the doorknob turning it. He stepped outside. And he ran.

 

* * *

 

Harry felt numb, all the energy leaving his body. He was like a puppet with its strings cut, he couldn't feel, couldn't think, couldn't even react when he was thrown at the feet of the viper. 

 

It didn't work. 

 

It didn't work and Harry was never going to get out of here. Never. He lost his last chance and- and-

 

They caught him before he could even make it past the half the path he had in his mind, it was embarrassing how fast they caught him. And it was heartbreaking. Because even until the last moment when they tackled him to the ground pressing his face on the tiles below, he expected his magic to protect him. But he was wrong and now he had no chance to get out of here.

 

No one was coming for him and from the anticipation in the air, no one would have the chance because the viper would surely kill him. A slender hand grabbed his face, long nails digging into his cheeks as the Viper pulled his face so close to her that their noses almost touched.

 

Harry couldn't bring himself to wince, to move away, to cry, to do anything. Her nails dug into his cheeks drawing out blood. Harry waited.

 

One heartbeat. Two.

 

"I have to say, I am quite...disappointed." She brought her lips closer to his ear, "Your every breath is borrowed, child. Granted by me and yet here you are, so ungrateful. So disobedient." Suddenly she pulled back completely, Harry still forced into a kneeling position on the floor. 

  
Hands held him still as a gun was held to his neck, Harry closed his eyes and waited. Waited for what? Who knows. He never thought he'd actually be this calm in the face of death after all hadn't he fought nail and tooth to survive all these years but he was tired. He was just tired and he just wanted the pain to end and-

 

There was a sharp pain in his neck but it only lasted for a moment. What? Harry's eyes snapped open. He was still alive. He shook his head trying to understand what happened but it just didn't make sense.

 

"That will make sure nothing like this ever happens again, Ma'am. " A nameless person declared. 

 

"Perhaps," The Viper put a finger on her lips, in deep thought " You need a demonstration to show you, show you how kind we've been to you. You think you have nothing to lose anymore." 

 

Harry raised his eyes to meet hers, Green eyes stared at him with something akin to interest, "You're wrong." 

 

And with that Harry was harshly pulled up from the ground and dragged away from the room. Harry was rather lost in his thoughts and would have remained so if it wasn't for screaming. Someone was screaming. He was dragged into a corridor leading to a single door from which the heart-wrenching screaming was coming.

  
Someone was screaming, the sound of pain and sorrow all rolled into one. Harry's breath hitched, his own pain dulling in the face of the fact that there was someone else here, someone near who was going through the same pain he was.

 

The door was opened and Harry was pushed into the room, the door closing behind him. His eyes widened as he took in the scene.

 

A man sat in a chair in the middle of the room, he was connected to the chair and restrained so that even his neck couldn't move.

  
The man shrieked in pain, fighting against the restraints. His chest convulsed, tremors wracking his entire body, his eyes scrunched shut as his face turned red steadily. His wrists were stained red from where the restraints had cut into his skin.

 

The numbness that had surrounded Harry's mind disappeared. No one should be able to scream like this, Harry looked on horrified.

 

"Ah, there you are subject 816. Madam Hydra informed me that you'll be joining us today in the soldier's procedure."

 

"Wha-What are you doing to him." He whispered in horror, his own tongue betraying him as his words came out all broken. 

 

"Fixing him." The Doctor answered plainly. 

 

Harry looked at her incredulously, these people, these monsters none of them were even flinching. There were seven people in the room, exempting the poor man on the chair, there was no discomfort in any of their faces like they weren't torturing a man. A glass wall separated the team from their victim. 

 

Harry gagged turning away.

 

Suddenly the man shouted, "Please! Please! Steve! Please! Please! " 

 

Harry tried to ignore it, but he couldn't. He never could look away when someone was in pain. It wasn't in his blood. Harry rushed forward and put his hands on the glass wall, "Stop, please. You're hurting him! Goddamnit, stop!" 

 

They ignored him, of course, they did. Harry bit his lips until he tasted the coppery blood in his mouth. 

 

The man's eyes snapped open.

 

Green eyes met dark blue and Harry knew.

 

This was the man who kidnapped him. This was his kidnapper and at that moment Harry felt nothing but sympathy and sadness for him. They broke him, just like they wanted to break Harry but unlike Harry, he couldn't put back the pieces together. Harry slid down on the floor, one hand still on the glass wall. 

 

It took a long time until the man stopped screaming and longer for the screams to stop echoing in Harry's head. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy the new chapter, let me know down below. I decided to update earlier this time to catch up with my updates on fanfic.net. Please do comment, it really makes my day.  
> -Marey


	6. Chapter 6

Cold empty blue eyes taunted Harry in his sleep that night, they pleaded to him to save them again and again and then, then they turned dull, dead. He woke up with a gasp.

It took Harry probably longer than it should have to remember exactly where before he had seen the empty look as was in the kidnappers' eyes. In (Fake) Mad-eye Moody's class every student had the same empty look their eyes when they were under the imperius curse.

Harry sat up with some difficulty, his wounds from the previous day throbbed with pain. Everything was so distorted yesterday but he felt a little clearer now. He felt worried and scared and mostly ashamed of his thoughts. He had almost given up, given up on everything. Sirius would be so ashamed, he'd spent over 13 years in Azkaban and still managed to get out and Harry, Harry couldn't last 3 weeks (at least that was his estimate). 

Harry pressed his fingers on a visible bruise on his arm. If he looked carefully he could almost make out the shape of fingers. He leaned back with a sigh. 

He couldn't try something like that again, at least not any time soon. The tracker/shocker in his neck wouldn't allow it anyways, as his 'guards' had gleefully told him. And if he did somehow manage to get out and they caught him, it will be his turn on the chair. 

A chill of horror went through him and Harry wrapped his arms around himself. The imperious curse did not work on him but the machines did befuddle his mind whenever they messed with it if they managed to completely take over his mind-

No, he wouldn't allow that. He will not allow himself to be their puppet. Blue eyes flashed before his mind. The man, the solider as they called him was under their control, like some sort of weapon instead of a person. Harry felt like throwing up, something made him think these people would get amazingly well with Voldemort or well they would if they weren't muggles. Torture and brainwashing, right up his alley.

One thing was clear, getting out by himself was difficult but trying to help him on the way would probably be impossible. But he couldn't leave him behind, could he?

* * *

It must have been at least a whole day after his failed escaped plan when he was called once again. Harry was busy at the time, though it did sound ridiculous since he was a prisoner.

Harry spend a lot of time alone, and while it wasn't always possible he tried to make it as productive as he could. So, he was going over every spell he'd learned or re-learned in summer, in alphabetical order of course. He said the spell in his mind and tried to remember the wand movement and its effects. 

_**Mobiliarbus** _

_**Nebulus,**_  It conjured dust didn't it? or was it fog?

 _ **Orbis,**_  sucked people into the ground, he couldn't quite remember the wand movement.

 _ **Orchideous,**  _Hah! Like he'd need flowers anytime soon. Harry scoffed at his own thoughts. Of all the spells he'd decided to learn that one, what waste of time.

He couldn't remember if he'd learned anything new with letter P, well there was the old Patronus charm but that's all. Come on there must be something useful, like a healing spell or something. Professor Lupin cast a spell like that, didn't he? 

Harry closed his eyes and tried to think back over that long long night.

_Professor hurried over to Ron, bent down, tapped Ron's leg with his wand and muttered Ferula. Bandages spun up Ron's leg, strapping it tightly to a splint._

**_"Ferula,"_**  Harry muttered under his breath. He repeated it again and again, the mantra in his mind only broke by sounds of footsteps that he registered after a few seconds. There was someone standing beside his bed. There was a tug at the neckline of his shirt and Harry was pulled off his bed harshly. His knees hit the floor, Harry looked up. It wasn't anyone he'd seen before. 

"Get up, Subject 816."

When Harry didn't move, the man grabbed his neck and pulled him up. Harry coughed a little from the thumb digging into his throat and except for a scowl in his direction, didn't struggle much.

"My ankle is sprained," he croaked out rubbing a hand over his throat. He could almost feel the tiles smashing against his cheek and the pressure on his ankle as it was almost crushed under a boot."

The man let out a breathy sound that may be laughter, "Serves you right." He said in a much less robotic manner. He clearly had no pity for Harry which showed when he grabbed Harry's arm and forced him to work on his hurting ankle. 

Harry almost wished he hadn't mentioned his ankle he was almost sure the guy was walking faster on purpose and taking the stairs instead of the elevator. He rolled his eyes in a subtle manner, of course, he'd enjoy Harry's obvious discomfort. Harry held back his next wince, he was not going to be a source of amusement for these goons (more than he was already).

Harry saw a few figures moving from the corner of his eyes, they were blurry but they were about to walk into one of the walls. Harry almost said something but they-they walked right _through_  the wall...What?

They turned into another corridor before Harry could see where it led but he had the weirdest gut feeling that that door led outside. And his instincts hadn't failed him yet, not completely at least. A hand reached out of nowhere and grabbed the man leading Harry.

"What the hell are you doing with that freak, Gerald?", A new man was whisper-shouting at 'Gerald', he looked panicked.

Gerald put his hand on Montgomery and not-so-gently pushed it away. He shrugged his shoulders, "Oh, Hey Montgomery. Just taking the subject," he stressed the word with a pointed look." to the lab on level 1." 

"Lab on- Are you out of your mind? This is no time for lab, everyone is busy planning for the project. The test subjects are supposed to be taken to the Solkovian base." 

Harry stayed quiet not wanting to bring attention to himself. Gerald shook his head but doubt was beginning to appear on his face," No. Madam Hydra sent the order for-"

"Which was canceled! Were you zoning out on the briefing again? Do you have any idea what they'll do if they see you with him?"

"Shit! What do I do with him then?"

The other man stared at Harry with calculating eyes, "Leave him here. They'll...." He paused, " -notice him soon enough and deal with him. What they do then, well, his problem, not yours."

Gerald nodded and opened a random door, he then he pushed Harry into in. Right before he slammed the door shut, he grinned at Harry, "Not-good luck." 

Harry barely stopped himself from blurting out a comment about 'Gerald' being an actual five-year-old. He just sighed and leaned with his back to the door. Just another weird possibly dangerous situation to add to his already messed up life.

The room had no light source, the only light was coming through a large window but it wasn't a window to the outside but to another room.

He contemplated whether or not he should walk closer, it was dark but there was enough light for him to be seen. He stepped forward and immediately winced at the pain shooting through his foot. He crouched down, and slowly crawled towards the window. His need to get closer far outweighing his disgust at crawling on such a dirty floor.

Once the room came to view, Harry let out a shuddering breath for in the other room, was the doctor, the kidnapper, and another blonde man. Harry mentally prayed they weren't torturing the man again with him having a front-row seat but thankfully there were no machines there this time.

"So, let me get this clear. You're saying he won't be ready for his task? I was here to take him with me. I  _cannot_  afford to waste more time on this." The man didn't shout but his anger was indicated in his voice. He reminded Harry of Lucius Malfoy when he found out about Harry freeing Dobby.

"Sir, his mission objectives and goals have been programmed. He'll be where he needs to be no matter where he is." The doctor replied in her signature monotone," But he does need to undergo another session for optimum performance.

The new man now titled short Lucious Malfoy, shot an annoyed look at her and turned his whole attention to the glaze-eyed man sitting in the chair, the kidnapper was whispering something but Harry couldn't figure out what it was.

"Solider," He said in a firm voice, "Focus. Tomorrow morning is a great day for all of us...You need to be ready. if you don't do your part I can't do mine."

"The man on the bridge, I knew him.." The kidnapper said in a slightly higher voice and his eyes were still unfocused.

"No, you didn't.", Knock off Lucius asserted. Solider didn't say anything more but Harry was sure he didn't really hear anything.

"I didn't" He breathily repeated. The man nodded approvingly. Harry felt like punching him in the face. 

The Doctor pressed a button on the wall and spoke into the small device, "Collin for the asset."

 _"Is he complying?"_ , came a slightly slurring voice.

"Yes, no aggression."

_"Send him to the lab, I'll be there in an hour."_

And the next thing he knew, The kidnapper (Harry thought it was a much more humane name than the 'asset') was being taken away. Short Lucius's eyes followed the kidnapper until the door closed again, then he turned towards the Doctor who was writing something on her trusty clipboard.

"I was informed you wiped him."

"We did but he has been out Cyro for too long." The doctor answered a bit absently. "He's straying too much, even after the wipe."

"Well, it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't woken him up weeks before he was supposed to be!" 'Lucius' looked furious now. 

The doctor's hand froze mid-air, "Madame Hydra always has her reasons.", She replied stiffly.

"And her reasons might as well sabotaged the whole plan."

"Alexander, Its seems like you've forgotten, you're not the only leader in Hydra."

"Ophelia," Alexander (?) turned towards the door, "Its wonderful to see you as always."

Harry hadn't even noticed her standing there. None of them had.

"Oh, I am sure it is." Madam Hydra smiled, it may have been pleasant if there wasn't an underlying sarcasm and danger to it. 

Silence. Harry almost stopped breathing, if he was found out now there was no way they'd let him live.

"I never said anything to you chasing after a ghost," Alexander took a calming breath looking tired all of a sudden," but only when it doesn't interfere with my plans."

"Oh, Yes. And you'd know more about ghosts than anyone else, don't you Alexander." She walked closer to him until they were both face to face. The doctor must have left at some point but Harry didn't notice that. 

"But I control them, Madame, not chase after them. The asset was not supposed to be awake before the project began." 

Madam Hydra smiled again, She traced a finger down Alexanders face. Harry shivered, he knew from personal experience that those nails were sharp enough to cut.  "Peggy Carter is a greater threat than you imagine, especially for your little project. She needed  to be taken out before you could commence, sadly there were....complications." 

"Ophe-Madam Hydra," Alexander gently pushed down her hand, "Margret Carter went missing almost 40 years ago." He sighed, " And even if she was alive, which is doubtful, to be honest, there is not much she can do to damage Project Insight."

"A woman by the description of Margret Carter has taken out 10 virtually unknown Hydra bases single handily and foiled over 50 operations over the last 30 years or so." She leaned in closer, " If there is anyone who can completely destroy your little mission. It's her. " And how delighted she looked at that fact, Harry was sure Alexander didn't miss it just like he didn't.

"Well, it's good that she is dead then. It is most likely someone is feeding off of her reputation as I've told you many times before."

"Peggy Carter was sighted two months ago in Japan. Who knows why she suddenly decided to appear but she's back and she looks young, younger than a 93-year-old woman has the right to be." 

Peggy wasn't 93 years old. That just simply wasn't possible...was it? He knew these people were after Peggy but he didn't imagine all of this. Secret organizations, brainwashing, plans to do Merlin knows what, things just kept getting better and better didn't they?

"Why wasn't I told about this?" Alexander sounded enraged, Harry flinched before he could control himself but it was clear by now that they had no idea he was here and they could not see him, that soothed his anxiety a little.

"Well, it's a little above your clearance level dear." Madam Hydra's patronizing tone could easily put Snape's to shame.

 _'Professor Snape, Harry!'_  He could almost hear Hermione scold him, but it didn't matter. None of it did, not right now.

Alexander breathed in deeply, "I do not have the time to argue with you about this. Once the helicarriers are in the sky we can take her out using them. Right now the real threat to the project is Steve Rogers. And I need the solider to take him out. "

"The captain recognized him." Madam Hydra sounded thoughtful "It is a good strategy, Rogers would hesitate to fight his own friend but the solider wouldn't. You do know this might be the thing that breaks him, he might turn on us."

"He won't get the chance. Once the task is done, so is the asset."

And that was it. Harry didn't really notice when Alexander or Madam Hydra left him sitting alone in the dark. He was too busy panicking internally. It dawned on him at that moment that he had no idea what was going on or what he was going to do next.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, once again my lovelies! I hope you enjoyed the new chapter and that it cleared some of the questions you guys had plus it also indicates exactly where we are in the MCU. As much as I'd love to discuss different elements of this chapter, I actually have an announcement to make. First and foremost, I have no plans to discontinue this story or any of my other stories any time soon.
> 
> Now, I am sure I have mentioned many times that I am a student, a pre-med student to be more accurate. My exams are just a month and a half away after which I will be preparing for practicals and MDCAT. Keeping that in mind, updates for my stories will become less and less frequent, at least until my exams and practicals are done. This doesn't mean that the stories will be abandoned. I will try to update at least one of my stories every 2 weeks (I hope so) but that is the best I can do. You can vote for the story you want to be updated through your comments on the sad story.
> 
> I hope that you guys understand and support me in my decision. Now last but not least, thank you so much for all the love you've given this story and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Feel free to shout at me in the comments. 
> 
> -Marey.


	7. Chapter 7

There was a person-Kid-standing in the corner of the workshop. Asset considered telling his handlers but he wasn't given any orders and he wasn't supposed to act without them. So he didn't. He looked familiar, it was like something slipping from between his fingers, like foggy scenes and words that made no sense. Asset didn't like that feeling. It was becoming too common nowadays. It hindered his functionality.

_He-He knew that woman he'd seen her before. He aimed._

_Fired. Missed target. Target missing._

_"Stay down." He kicked away the stick his target's companion was holding._

The boy was part of his previous mission and yet he was kept alive. He felt something loosen inside him, he sat up straighter. No, no weakness could be shown.

_"Bucky?"_

_"Who the hell is Bucky?"_

The person finally came out from the dark, Asset duly calculated how long it would take for the technician to notice. His thoughts shuddered to a stop because for a second, just a second, it was like a different thin boy with his shoulder back and firey determination was walking towards him instead. A boy with blond hair and baby blue eyes. A blink and it was gone.

"Hi," Green eyes stared at him, Asset refused to look at him any longer, What he didn't see he didn't have to report."I-I don't know if you remember me...em..." The boy gulped, Asset could almost feel his nervousness. "Look. We have to get you the hell out of here. These people are insane. They-They're hurting you and they are planning to kill you after your next mission. I heard them."

The Asset was being decommissioned. He'd comply of course. It was the logical solution to his 'slipping' problem. Just one last mission and then he'd be done.

* * *

 

Harry almost growled, he had to stop himself from shouting at the man. He wasn't listening! They didn't have much time before the other man came in, they needed to get out right now when they had the chance.

Merlin, this guy actually looked relieved when told of his doomed fate. What a mess. He stepped in the kidnapper's vision forcing him to look at him instead, the man's eyes looked unfocused as if he was seeing but not looking. Harry wondered for a quick moment if the man would choose to close his eyes next to ignore him.

He went over the eavesdropped conversation in his mind, if he didn't care about his own life...maybe-

"They're going to make you kill your friend."

No reaction. He didn't know they were friends, did he?

"They're going to make you kill Steve."

His eyes focused with enough intensity to make Harry take a step back. The door slammed open. Harry's eyes widened, he stared in panic at the man who'd entered.

"Hey! What are you-"

One second the man was striding towards him and the next there was a flash as he fell down on the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. Harry stared, the man didn't move. Was that-Did he do that? He let out a breath of relief. He should still check, he limped towards the man laying on the ground.

The kidnapper followed him with his eyes, he looked agitated. Harry nudged the man with his foot, he looked unconscious. Harry looked back. The kidnapper didn't seem startled though he was looking at Harry with a furrowed brow, he finally opened his mouth,

"Who are you?" His voice was raspy.

"Harry James Potter," Harry replied hurriedly, kneeling down and patting the jacket of the fallen man. He found a clearance pass similar to what the guard that pulled him from his room had. He also pulled the gun that the unconscious man had on his belt.

"James." The kidnapper said like tasting the name on his lips, "I think I know that name."

"This is the only chance you'll get to leave. To find out. " He thrust the gun and the card in the man's hands. The man looked down at the gun seriously, as if everything depended upon this single moment. Maybe it did. After a second the man looked like he'd reached a decision.

"What are my orders for our escape."

They needed to get going. He'd seen people go through a wall a few corridors back to the right. He quickly told the solider the path.

"You need to get out before-"

A siren started blaring through the building. Harry cursed, they knew. The kidnapper stood up and marched to the door, he looked back waiting for Harry to join him.

Harry stepped forward then stopped with a wince of pain. He froze. His ankle. Time was short as it was, there was no way they could get out in time with his limp. He'd just hold the solider back. Not caring about the fact that this man was the reason that he was stuck here, Harry made his choice.

"You go ahead, it will distract them and I'll-I'll escape from the back."

There was no escape in the back. He was lying, they both knew it.

The man didn't move.

Harry could hear footsteps, "Just go. You can come for me when you've recovered. They won't kill me."

Another lie. But a better one. The man nodded stiffly and then he was gone. Harry limped to the door behind him, his magic was working. The base was almost empty. Maybe, just maybe his lie could end up being true-

A scream lodged in his throat as a current spread through his body and his body seized up.

* * *

 

"Madame Carter, Shield can really use the help you promised right now."

"I haven't forgotten my promise, Fury " There was the sound of papers shuffling, "but I am being completely honest when I say I am previously occupied."

"Madame Carter I just had to fake my own death to escape an assassin, Project insight has been taken over and its the only chance we'll get to burn the body instead of just cutting off the heads. The infestation was deeper than any of us expected."

There was silence.

"Isn't Ste-Captain America helping you?"

"He's compromised right now. In more than one way."

When he heard nothing for a while, Fury continued, "I know you are busy looking for some boy but we're looking at a possible full-blown Hydra take over."

A sigh, then, "Fine. But I won't abandon my search and I need you to call in your magical

contacts."

"Those wand waving shits don't want anything to do with the 'trivial' issues of us 'mundanes' as they like to call us."

"They'll want to this time. Because the 'boy' I've been looking for, is Harry Potter. The boy who lived."

"Mother Fu-"

* * *

 

Harry fell in and out of consciousness for a while, he could hear voices. Many of them, arguing with each other.

"-completely certain. He will die." It was the Doctor, "His body isn't developed enough to stand the power of the chair."

"Its a good outcome for us."

"Madame?"

"If he dies, it will prove a punishment for costing me my solider and if he lives. Well, we'll just have ourselves a toy to play with."

"Understood, Ma'am. As for the shifting, the artifact has been secured and the testing will resume-"

The voices soon muffled before fading out completely.

* * *

 

Heavy breathing echoed in the air, green eyes fluttered open. Harry let out a pained shaky breath, waking up all tied up was really starting to get old. They really had a fascination with knocking him out.

Harry absently noted that he was sitting in some sort of chair. Needles were inserted into his arms and legs, and there was something bound around his mouth. When he first woke up, Harry mistook it for the red cloth he used to wrap around the mouth to stop himself from waking the household with his screams but it wasn't that. It was like some sort of mask, its leather dug deep into his skin.

"At this point, I am starting to think you're more trouble than you are worth." Cat-like eyes stared at him. Cold. Hard. Unforgiving. Madam Hydra looked at Harry with a disappointed look in her eyes.

Something cold wrapped around Harry's heart, was it this then? He felt unnaturally calm, maybe because somehow, somewhere along the way he had realized that this would be the consequence of his actions. His eyes moved to the bluish fluid that was present in small glass tubes connected to the machine.

He wasn't in just any chair, he was in the chair. The kidnapper's chair. But the fluid, it hadn't been there the last time he had seen the chair.

"You cost me a soldier, subject 816." If Harry could talk, he would've probably (maybe) pointed out that they were going to kill the soldier anyways but he couldn't so he didn't, he waited for her to continue.

Madam Hydra let out a small sigh as if he was forcing her to do whatever this was, but Harry could see the glint in her eyes. The excitement.

There was a loud sound as whoever was behind that glass window turned on the machines at her signal. Harry closed his eyes. There was a hum of machines.

And then the pain began.

Harry _screamed._

His scream was muffled but he could feel it in his chest. In his throat. There was something invading his body, something foreign. It burned like nothing he had experienced before. Electricity and poison raced through his body.

Harry's face scrunched against the agony that he was going through. He could feel the poison moving under his skin, sliding through his body. It forced its way through his muscles, slithering and hanging on to them. He screamed until his throat felt raw and bloody.

The pain was like nothing he had felt before, death would have been easier to stand than this.

It had surrounded his heart, it squeezed it, making it unable to beat forcing it into a motionless state and it hurt. He couldn't breathe, couldn't scream, at this point it was like all his sense had left him and the only thing that remained was the pain. But then, the pain stopped. Like it was never there, to begin with.

A scene flashed before his eyes, a bright white station, an ugly baby crying on the floor, his mother. Then just as suddenly as it started, it was over. He was pulled back to reality and the pain came back with full force.

"We have a heartbeat!" Some declared joyously.

Something inside him broke.

* * *

 

He (asset?) ran through the woods with a reckless abandon, his finely honed skills helping him bypass even the smallest detection. He ran and ran, away from his (soldier's?) cage, away from his handlers, towards where he knew not. He had lost the agents pursuing him a while back, there was a reason he was known as a ghost.

He knew he was following something (someone?) in the back of his mind but he didn't know exactly what.

Things flashed before his eyes, a mission, an algorithm, A flash of blonde hair (target? Ally?), a glass building. Everything was still so muddled. What were his orders? What was he doing? Were was his handler?

He staggered to a stop. Why was he running?

He needed to ( was he allowed to need?) do something. There was somewhere he was required to be.

Two Targets...level six...confirmed killing...Helicarrier...secuirty system..Triskelion...Captain America...Mission report in 10 hours.

Blue eyes hardened. He looked towards the sky, it was almost night time. He had to get to Washington DC by morning. He made his way towards the nearest sound of civilization. He had a mission to complete.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harry just can't seem to catch a break, can he? Don't come at me, this was always the plan and things will get better, I promise. In the next chapter, we will see a glimpse into what's happening back with the order, I tried to incorporate it here but it just didn't fit. I love your feedback so let me know,
> 
> 1) Which scene or thing do you like the most in the story?
> 
> 2)What frustrates you the most? (I kinda know what's gonna be the most common answer hehe)
> 
> 3) There were several hints in this chapter, did you pick up on any?
> 
> 4)What would you like to see happen?
> 
> Thank you so much for your support and kindness.
> 
> -Marey


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